Even after his death, people look at Stan Lee as the most influential person in the comic industry, and Marvel fans have taken to social media to celebrate his 100th birthday. The late creator died in 2018 at 95. In that time, he cameoed in Marvel movies and, most importantly, created or co-created characters like Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, Nick Fury, Scarlet Witch, and more.
His career not only aimed the comic book industry toward the direction it took but formatted American genre storytelling. He was one of the influential people who laid out the foundation of genre storytelling that others beyond comic books would look at for inspiration.
The official Stan Lee Twitter account posted (seen below) a wall from L.A. Comic Con, where fans wrote on to celebrate his 100th birthday. The video shows messages of people wishing him a happy birthday, thanking him for his work, and people expressing their love for their favorite characters, like Spider-Man.
Marvel fans celebrate Stan Lee for his 100th birthday
100 years ago, Stan was born in NYC. Over the last century, his work changed the pop culture landscape & influenced millions.
At LA Comic Con, fans left messages for Stan's centennial. Inspiration. Legend. Hero. These are some of the words that came up again & again. #StanLee100 pic.twitter.com/dHnXkHJukE
— Stan Lee (@TheRealStanLee) December 28, 2022
People in the industry have taken their time to celebrate the life of the comic writer and editor. Kevin Smith posted old pictures of the two of them during the filming of Mallrats, which also includes a picture of them with Spider-Man making the hand gesture which shoots out the sticky web. He concluded it by writing, “Happy Birthday, Emperor of Excelsior.” James Gunn had pictures from their time on the set of Guardians of the Galaxy and red carpets, to which he wrote, “You are missed, my friend.” In those, we see Zoe Saldaña in full Gamora makeup with the comic creator. Another shows Gunn with Lee and Edgar Wright, who almost helmed the first Ant-Man movie.
Many posts across social media to celebrate the birthday showed Stan Lee at different points in his career with various characters. Some of those were real pictures of him, like leaning against a bust of Spider-Man and sharing their favorite images, like one with him and former Doctor Who actor Matt Smith.
Fun drawings were made to honor the late comic writer. One picture showed him standing proudly with the happy faces of the many heroes and villains he created or co-created. Another showed a brick wall designed to honor him when he died in 2018 with various characters, like Deadpool and Thor.
